VOA慢速英语2018 阿尔茨海默氏症有望通过血液早期检测（在线收听）

Possible Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Shows Early Promise

Researchers in Japan and Australia say they have made progress in developing a blood test that could one day help doctors identify who might get Alzheimer’s disease.

日本和澳大利亚的研究人员表示，他们在开发一项血液检测方面已经取得了进展，有朝一日这种检测可以帮助医生确诊阿尔茨海默病。

The scientists said the test can recognize a protein known as amyloid beta, which other studies have linked to Alzheimer’s. They said it was correct more than 90 percent of the time in a study involving over 370 people.

这些科学家表示，它可以检测出一种被称之为淀粉样蛋白的蛋白质，其它研究将这种蛋白质跟阿尔茨海默病联系到了一起。他们表示，在一项涉及370多人的研究中，其正确率超过了90%。

The findings were published in the journal Nature.

这一发现发表在《自然》杂志上。

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Experts believe dementia affects close to 50-million people worldwide. By the year 2050, it is expected to affect more than 131 million people. Those numbers come from Alzheimer’s Disease International, a non-profit group.

阿尔茨海默病是一种最常见的痴呆形式。专家认为痴呆症影响到全球近5千万人口。到2050年，预计它将会影响超过1.31亿人口。这些数字出自于非营利性组织国际阿尔茨海默病协会。

Currently, doctors have two ways to identify a buildup of amyloid beta in the brain. One is a brain scan or brain imaging; the other is invasive cerebrospinal fluid testing, also known as a spinal tap. But both tests are invasive, costly and may only show results when the disease has already started to progress.

目前医生有两种办法来确诊大脑中β淀粉样蛋白的积聚。一种是大脑扫描或大脑成像，另一种是侵袭性脑脊髓液检查，也称之为脊髓液穿刺。但是这两种办法都是侵入性的，价格昂贵，而且只有在已经患病时才能显示出结果。

There is no treatment that can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. Current drugs can only ease some of the effects of the disease.

目前没有任何治疗可以延缓阿尔茨海默病的发展，药物只能缓解这种疾病的一些影响。

Having a simple, low-cost blood test could make it easier for drug companies to find enough people who are at risk of developing Alzheimer’s to test new medicines, said Katsuhiko Yanagisawa. He was one of the leaders of the study. He works at the Japanese National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology.

Katsuhiko Yanagisawa表示，拥有一种简单、低成本的血液检测方法可以让制药公司更容易找到足够多存在患上老年痴呆症风险的人们来检测新药物。Katsuhiko Yanagisawa是这项研究的负责人之一，他在日本国立老年医学和病学中心工作。

Alzheimer’s disease is thought to start developing years before patients have any signs of memory loss. Experts say an important factor in finding an effective treatment will be the ability to recognize signs of the disease early.

据认为阿尔茨海默病在患者产生任何失忆迹象的几年前已经发病。专家们表示，找到有效治疗方法的一个重要因素就是能够及早识别出这种疾病的征兆。

“You have got to walk before you run,” said Colin Masters, a co-leader of the study and a professor at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

澳大利亚墨尔本大学教授及这项研究的联合负责人科林·马斯特斯（Colin Masters）表示：“我们必须得循序渐进。”

“You have to learn to diagnose the disease directly before you can hope to see the effect of therapeutic intervention. And that’s where the real value in this test will come,” Masters added.

马斯特斯表示：“在我们想要看到治疗干预效果之前，必须先学会直接诊断这种疾病。而这就是这种血液检测真正的价值所在。”

The study involved 252 Australian and 121 Japanese patients. They were all between 60 and 90 years old.

该研究涉及了252名澳大利亚患者和121名日本患者。他们的年龄都在60到90岁之间。

Scientists not directly involved in the study said it made an important step, but now the findings need to be confirmed.

未直接参与这项研究的科学家们表示，这是重要的一步，但是这项发现目前尚需得到证实。

Mark Dallas is a teacher at Britain’s University of Reading. He said, “if (it) can be repeated in a larger number of people, this test will give us an insight into changes occurring in the brain that relate to Alzheimer’s disease."

马克·达拉斯（Mark Dallas）是英国雷丁大学的老师。他说：“如果它可以在大量人身上重复得到证实，那么这项检测就能让我们了解到与阿尔茨海默病有关的大脑变化。”

Abdul Hye works at King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. He said the blood test was still a long way from being able to be used in medical centers.

Abdul Hye就职于伦敦国王学院精神病学、心理学和神经学学院。他说，这种血液检测距离在医疗中心应用还有很长的路要走。

John Hardy is a professor of neuroscience at University College London. He said it was a “hopeful study,” one that could improve diagnostic accuracy.

John Hardy是伦敦大学学院的一名神经学教授。他说，这是一项“充满希望的研究，”它可以提高诊断的准确性。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result

diagnose – v. to recognize signs of something

occur – v. to take place; to come into existence

positive – adj. good or useful

diagnostic – adj. of or relating to the identification of a disease or problem

accuracy – n. freedom from mistake

cerebrospinal – adj. involving the brain and spinal cord